3 biggest draft busts in Seattle Seahawks history

The franchise is coming off a very successful draft. Of course, that isn’t always the case of every NFL team and that includes the Seattle Seahawks.

In 1976, the National Football League expanded for the first time since the New Orleans Saints joined the league in 1967. In this instance, two franchises raised the number of NFL teams to 28.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed in the AFC West and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. The clubs were led by head coaches John McKay and Jack Patera, respectively.

As for the ‘Hawks, the team has made a total of three Super Bowl appearances and won it all in 2013 (XLVIII). The franchise is represented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the likes of Steve Largent, Cortez Kennedy, Walter Jones and Kenny Easley. The last three were all drafted by the Seahawks organization. So were the following three disappointments.

Biggest NFL draft busts in Seattle Seahawks franchise history:

3. L.J. Collier

He recently joined the division-rival Cardinals via a one-year, $1.232 million deal (via Spotrac). That’s quite a fall for defensive end L.J. Collier, who the Seahawks used the 29th overall selection on in 2019. That year, the former TCU product inked a four-year, $10.83 million contract.

Fair or unfair, much more was expected from a player that showed some pass-rush potential. During his senior season with the Horned Frogs, Collier played in 11 games and finished with 42 tackles, six sacks and four passes defensed.

In four seasons with Pete Carroll’s club, the 6-foot-2, 291-pound defender appeared in 45 regular-season contests and finished with more batted passes (5) than sacks. All of those quarterback traps came in 2020 when he was a 16-game starter. He hit the free-agent market in March as the Seahawks declined his fifth-year option last spring.